In the early 1980s, the magical girl genre was going through a different phase from what we know nowadays. Unlike some of the most well-known series today, the magical girls from that era weren’t necessarily superheroines, but they were still inspiring (or helping) figures. If there was any stake, it could be in keeping others from finding out about their magical powers–and in some cases, their alter-egos–otherwise there were usually consequences such as losing them.

Those magical girls didn’t necessarily need something to fight for or a particular reason to have their powers. Sometimes they just got them for the very respectable purpose of doing whatever the hell they wanted, with only the show’s morals–and their own powers–as limits.

When there’s color, Banana Fish is filled with black and yellow. It dominates all covers of the series and most of its variations, it’s on guidebooks and merchandises, and now, it’s everywhere on the promo materials of the upcoming anime TV adaptation.

Like a warning sign, the meaning behind those colors alone tells us plenty about Banana Fish’s world: poisonous, dangerous and obsessive.

I remember Cardcaptor Sakura from the days when Cartoon Network (my then favorite channel) aired most of the big shonen and shojo hits of the era. Although I liked it (Sakura was the sole reason I owned a couple of roller skates), for some reason, I didn’t remember much of the show itself growing up. I suspect it might have been because it aired while I had school, which would, of course, mean that I never watched it much, but I’m not really sure. However, I’ve always wanted to go back to it, and the winter season bringing us a sequel was the push I needed it to finally do so.